Slow Down
by N.T. Embe
Summary: Funny, the General was never one to be late. - Sequel 1 of 2 to my fic "Rain".


**Title:** Slow Down

**Rating:** PG-13

**Theme:** Out of Character

**Pairings/Characters:** Zack Fair and Sephiroth, and one Hidden Pairing – Those of you who read my last fic will know the one.

**Word Count:** 1,183

**Summary:** Funny, the General was never one to be late.

**Time Period:** Set a few hours after my last fic, Rain.

**Warnings:** None, just one light cuss. o.o …I'm not the cussin' type. So dun complain that I warn for every little thing. :I

**Dedication:** To Alice. Thank you for giving me that pep talk the other day. Dreams are meant to be followed. I always want to have the heart to do that.

**Disclaimer:** Not a real part in the FFVII storyline, but~ Can't blame me for being curious, now can you? :3

**A/N:** One of two second parts to my fic Rain. Yes, there are _two_ second parts to that fic. You'll understand why eventually. X3

**Song:** _Come Over (Caramel Pod Club Mix)_ by Koda Kumi

. . . . . . .

"You're out awfully late."

The tall figure slowed only slightly as another voice spoke. Soft green eyes turned upon the fair skinned and handsome First Class Soldier. Encouraged by the attention, however momentary, the dark haired man leaning upon the banister grinned. Without saying a word, the heavily cloaked man came to a stop a couple feet from the railing.

"Where have you been! You know you're late, riiiiight?" the man sang out, lowering his head, eyebrows raised pointedly as he waited for the silver haired man to respond to his accusations. His mouth opened, an arm extending forward and palm up, gesturing with increasingly slow circles as he tried to encourage the stoic male to open up.

"I phoned ahead and told them to cancel," came the even, unhurried response. If the Gongagan hadn't known any better, he'd have thought there was even a hint of a shrug to the General's shoulders.

The Soldier dropped his head and arm, slumping over the banister dramatically. When he came back up for air, an enormous and harried expulsion of breath gushed out. "Yah, THANKS about that," Zack rolled off sarcastically, his eyes going skyward where darkness had already fallen. Suddenly the Soldier straightened and walked towards the General, bringing his hands, curled and shaking, before the taller man's face. "I had to fight off the three rabid hyenas—!" His voice cracked. "Because you _left_ me there!" His mouth fell agape and turned downwards, eyes quavering and desperate.

"Zack," the silver haired man warned with a light, false tiredness that had nothing to do with the way he felt. The ebon haired Soldier's stark blue eyes lifted to his superior's face hopefully, the corners of his lips turning upwards with a potential for joy, only to have his elation wiped from his face prematurely.

"HEY, WHAT ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?" the man shrieked, mutually horrified and indignant. The unmistakable quirk of the General's lips and knick to his pale eyebrows were as good as laughter in a less private man. The Soldier First made a motion as though to hit the silver haired man in the arm and then grabbed his own arm back with his other, clutching it possessively to his chest and narrowing his eyes at the General, lips pursed suspiciously.

"I'd smack you, but you'd kick my ass," Zack muttered huffily and glared before shrugging largely and letting his arms flop down to his sides. "Ah well! So what _did_ keep you, Sephiroth?" he asked curiously now, turning towards the walkway as an invitation to continue on the General's previous path. As they fell into step, the General looked over to his Second and considered for a moment not telling the man what it had truly been. More than likely it would be blown out of proportion and become the subject of many an emotional and belligerent tirade for the young Soldier First in his moments of exaggeration…of which there were many. Sephiroth paused.

_Very_ many, he corrected.

"Come on. You don't just blow off exec' meetings for the heck of it," Zack concluded, a loose grin on his face. "_Nothing_ makes the 'General, sir!'—" and he jumped and saluted mid-step, landing with a bounce. "_Late._ THEREFORE!" he shouted, twirling a finger into the air dramatically. "Something _epic_ must have happened," he concluded—_again_—with a satisfied nod.

Sephiroth glanced to his Second with a look of unguarded interest. But before he could voice a word, Zack whirled on him and waggled his finger—at a safe and respectful distance—towards the General. "And don't you go trying not to tell me, because I, Zackary Fair the Sixty-Ninth! Will stop at nothing to find out!" The boisterous man clapped his fist against his chest with his shoulders back, holding the position as though having declared something magnanimous.

"Somebody was caught in the rain, so I gave them my umbrella."

Zack tripped. Catching himself a moment later he looked seriously at his superior and walked staring at him in silence for a few seconds. Then: "Well that explains the wet dog look." A breath, a moment of silence in which Sephiroth had absolutely no intentions of deluding himself that Zack was— "So who was it? A woman? Man? Young? Elderly? Was it someone you _knew?_" …satisfied.

"Zack," Sephiroth began, a note of superiority in his voice.

"There is NO WAY that it could have been something _that_ simple, Sephiroth!" the man objected, cutting him off. "You give a gal your umbrella and you move on? Come on! Did you walk her home? Is that what took so long? She invited you in and you got cozy 'til the rain let up?"

"I never said it was a woman," he answered dryly.

"So you don't deny that you went in her house? Had some coffee, ate some pie," the dark haired man goaded, grin fully back on his face now.

"No, Zack," Sephiroth said slowly, as though the man beside him was having difficulty making the neurons in his brain jump to make the information click. "I did not enter anyone's home."

"So you refused to go in even after she invited you?" said man gasped darkly, throwing the General a dirty look.

"I was not invited in. We parted ways as soon as I convinced them to take the umbrella."

"You snubbed their homely invitation! Before they even had a chance to offer it!" Zack gaped and then laughed as cool green eyes leveled at him. "I get it, I get it." He held up his hands defensively, giving up on that battle. "But seriously, Sephiroth," he smiled, cocking a brow. "If that's what made you decide to miss this meeting—_You_, miss _this_, miss ANY meeting!—then what the heck happened man? Was it really someone that important?"

Sephiroth did not answer as they reached the side entrance into one of the main facilities upon the Shin-Ra company grounds. They stepped inside and moved through the lobby and down a hall until they paused before the elevator banks. At this hour of the night, the facility was mostly deserted, making their wait additionally quiet.

"Uhh, Seph?" Zack tested cautiously, eyeing his superior with open bewilderment, wondering if the topic was closed.

"I don't think 'important' is the word," the General said softly, his expression unreadable at first. The elevator rang lightly and the doors opened. The two men stepped inside, sliding the card appropriate for their floor, and the compartment began to move. As they rose steadily, Zack watched Sephiroth curiously, knowing when he had received more than he normally would or should have from the man.

Suddenly, Sephiroth's expression shifted slightly. Zack perked up, catching the change in his superior's face. He looked almost as though he was openly pondering now, until green eyes almost brightened and looked as though they'd settled on a realization. Sephiroth turned towards the Soldier First, opened his mouth to speak—"'Sixty-ninth,' Zack?" The closest thing to a grin was on the General's face.

Zack promptly kicked himself and fell down inside the elevator.


End file.
